Cheating on Tests? Chinese AI Companies Shut Down Artificial Intelligence During Exams 

As in every June, China once again held a four-day testing period for more than 13 million high school students, known as the Gaokao. Good test results can secure them a place at university and thus determine their future. However, the growing number of AI tools is leading to increasingly frequent cheating during tests. That is why China decided to take a major step this year.

University Places Are Limited

Many students, few university places. The Gaokao exam, which took place this year between June 7 and 10, puts significant pressure on high school students. It is therefore no surprise that students are trying to achieve better results with the help of AI. This year, however, several leading technology companies restricted their chatbots' features to ensure a level playing field for all exam participants.

AI as a Tool for Better Results

Artificial intelligence is an excellent educational assistant. It helps students understand the curriculum or explains complex subject matter. However, problems arise when it comes to tests and exams.

Easy access to chatbots and voice assistants is growing much faster than schools' ability to respond to this issue. Chinese technology companies have therefore taken a clear stance: shut down or restrict AI tool features during national exams.

DeepSeek and Qwen Introduce Restrictions

According to The Guardian, several Chinese technology giants helped establish fair conditions for students. Qwen (Alibaba), Kimi (Moonshot), and Yuanbao (Tencent) suspended features of their chatbots during the exam period.

Another participant was the well-known AI company DeepSeek. It limited the availability of its services and features to certain hours of the day, while Doubao (ByteDance) suspended its question-answering feature during the admissions process.

In addition, all chatbots disabled image and photo recognition if an image appeared to resemble an exam paper.

Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Detecting Cheating

While students are trying to use artificial intelligence for their own dishonest advantage, some Chinese regions see it as an excellent way to monitor students during exams. AI is already helping them supervise students and detect unusual behavior, such as whispering or turning around.

Recordings from examination rooms can then be analyzed, and rule violations penalized with an appropriate punishment. In addition to these security measures, student verification, signal blocking, and device checks for devices that could give students an unfair advantage were also tightened this year. Artificial intelligence will therefore apparently help not only students but also exam administrators.

Source: The Guardian